I don’t know much about Ohio. Nothing at all, really. As she sings in 
the title track, Karin Bergquist knows it “like the back of my hand”. That one line sums up much about Ohio, Over The Rhine’s the two-disc epic released in 2003. This is a highly personal, introspective, self-analytical record that looks at matters of faith and the human condition through a cloud of smoke and honey.
Each of the discs showcases Bergquist’s voice – a rich, slightly bitter caramel that wouldn’t have been out of place on a more traditional jazz record – in different ways. Disc One proceeds at a slower, more languid pace. Tracks such as the title track and Suitcase slide along with reflective, soulful intonation. “Jesus In New Orleans” (in which, after a couple of Bloody Marys, Jesus “wore a dark and faded blazer, with a little of the lining hanging out“) adds a slight hint of Patsy Cline to the proceedings, while “Lifelong Fling” (despite being a somewhat mournful rumination) delivers a slow, sensual waltz.
Tonally, much of Ohio is heavy, as is its subject matter. Much of it has allusions to material of a spiritual – and more often than not, religious – persuasion but this is not a “biblical” record as such. The careful woven introspections in Ohio are self examinations of the roadmap religion lays down, and struggle one faces in following it. “I want to do better, I want to try harder, I want to believe down to the letter” implores “Long Lost Brother”, while the freewheeling, gospel-tinged “Idea #21 (Not Too Late)” asks a variety of questions to the Lord about the state of the world below.
Admittedly, this is a dense, sometimes laboured record. If you’re searching for instant aural gratification you won’t necessarily find it in Ohio. Yet, five years on, there are enough interesting turns of phrase and slowly-revelated ideas to dust off the old ipod for a listen. Ohio was a vision realised – a slow-burning, spiritually sensual vision – and remains the peak in the otherwise uneven Over The Rhine catalogue.
In summary: rich, jazz/country/gospel-tinged look a life and faith.
Standout track: Changes Come
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Listen to “Ohio”
